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MoneyWi$e goes to Dallas and Houston

Consumer Action trains more than 100 staff from Texas organizations.

More than 100 staff from community agencies, government entities, volunteer and faith-based organizations attended Consumer Action’s MoneyWi$e regional conferences in Texas. Participants from several states gathered in Houston and Dallas during the third week of September to learn more about MoneyWi$e, a financial literacy program created by Consumer Action and Capital One.

Affiliates from various national organizations, including the National Urban League, the National Council of La Raza and the National Community Reinvestment Coalition traveled from Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee and Washington, DC, to meet with local agencies in Texas and gain knowledge and new tips on how to teach to adults, network with other agencies and share best practices in working with minorities and low-income consumers.

After a warm welcome from Greg Mangum, Community Relations Manager for Capital One, Consumer Action’s Executive Director Ken McEldowney provided an overview of this national partnership, which started in 2001 with the goal of educating consumers about how to manage their personal finances. Since then, Consumer Action has trained thousands of community organizations across the country and continues to distribute free, multilingual publications and offer stipend grants to agencies committed to implementing the MoneyWiSe financial literacy program and to improving the lives of their clients.

Lead by- Mikael Wagner, Consumer Action’s outreach team provided tips, tools and the latest information on topics such as building and rebuilding credit, bankruptcy changes, scams and frauds that target seniors, identity theft, and how to talk to teens about money. Throughout the training, participants learned about the different components of each of the modules in the MoneyWi$e financial literacy program and engaged in fun and interactive activities created by the outreach team. Working together, staff from non-profit organizations, local and regional government authorities, and credit counseling agencies developed strategies to help consumers get back on track and manage their money more effectively.

As part of the discussion on the “Saving To Build Wealth” module, Texas Saves State Director Cynthia Nevels encouraged participants to collaborate in order to change financial behavior in adults and youth. Nevels provided attendees with an overview of the efforts spearheaded by Texas Saves, a community-based campaign launched in 2004 to promote saving and assist consumers to build wealth. The picture to the right shows Greg Mangum from Capital One and Cynthia Nevels from Texas Saves at the Dallas training.

A guest speaker, Neish Carroll, from the Texas Legal Services Center, an organization that provides specialized assistance to advocates of low-income people, clarified some of the myths around the Earned Income Tax Credit.

Consumer Action and Capital One remain committed to assisting organizations throughout the country with their financial literacy efforts by providing innovative programs, resources and financial assistance. To learn more about MoneyWi$e, visit www.money-wise.org. For best practices, tools, and to contact the outreach team, visit Consumer Action’s Outreach website.

For a list of participating agencies, click here.